Soil Pollution is a major concern today. The loose surface material that covers most land on earth is called soil. Soil consists of both organic and inorganic matter. Soil supports the structure of plants used in agriculture and is also their source of water and nutrients. Soil is not only providing benefits to agriculture but also providing so many benefits to several living things, including human beings. Nowadays, this soil is polluted for so many reasons and has several health effects on the body. Before going to see the health effects, we should see the different types of soil, the colors of soil, and what is soil pollution?.
Types of soil
Commonly, there are four types of soil. They are…
- Sandy soil.
- Silt Soil.
- Clay Soil.
- Loamy Soil.
- Colors of Soil
The most common colors of soil are red, brown, white, and black. Sometimes soil comes in the colors of yellow, yellowish-red, grayish-brown, and pale red.
What is soil pollution?
Good soil is polluted because of the deposition of waste materials, both liquid and solid. Soil that adversely affects the soil and groundwater purity. Soil pollution has increased the chance of water pollution and air pollution.
What are the reasons for soil pollution?
The soil is polluted for several reasons. Both soil and water cause contamination of the soil, as most wastes disposed of are non-biodegradable and toxic. This will affect the soil health and water quality.
Generally, the disposal waste in the soil differs into three types. They are municipal solid waste, construction waste, demolition waste, and hazardous waste.
Municipal solid waste
Municipal waste is commonly known as household garbage or trash. This waste contains everyday items that are dumped by the common people. Everyday, garbage waste is collected by the municipality staff. This type of solid waste contains food waste, kitchen waste, and paper that is biodegradable. A huge amount of non-biodegradable plastic, chemical wastes such as batteries, paints, and cosmetic waste, biomedical wastes such as medicine product waste, and other electric and non-combustible wastes
Construction waste
Several construction processes happen in daily life; during construction work, so many waste materials are discarded by the construction industry. This construction waste includes bricks, used cement, nails, electrical wires, plastic materials, shingles, concrete rubble, wood objects, asphalt, iron, and steel material.
Demolition waste
Demolition waste is also a part of construction materials, but this waste material is produced after the demolition of any structure like dams, cement roads, tanks, bridges, and apartments.
Hazardous waste
Hazardous wastes are wastes that contain harmful products that contain toxic substances and pose a threat to the environment. Hazardous waste is primarily in liquid form and consists mainly of chemicals such as petroleum, carbon, pesticides, and fertilizers.
Mining
During the mining process, lots of unwanted and useful products are extracted from the soil. These unwanted substances are disposed of on the soil as they further release harmful toxic substances, causing pollution.
Agricultural activities
Due to population increases, farmers are most likely to use fertilizers and pesticides to keep their crops safe from insects, fungi, bacteria, etc. They also want more yield during the short period, so they are using several chemical fertilizers rather than natural fertilizers and pesticides. This will affect the soil’s health condition and also cause several effects on humans.
How do I minimize soil pollution?
Every country in this world is facing soil pollution due to modern innovation. Following some precautionary steps will help control soil pollution and will also be good for the next generation.
Efficient agricultural practices
Today, several farmers are using pesticides and artificial fertilizers for high yields and to protect crops from insects and bugs. This excessive use of chemical insecticides, pesticides, and weedicides will affect the soil conditions. So, farmers should use natural fertilizers to secure the quality of the soil. Using natural fertilizers will maintain soil conditions and also improve crop quality. Encouraging organic farming will make great changes in the soil conditions and also help to avoid or reduce soil pollution.
Avoid deforestation and encourage afforestation and reforestation.
Trees are playing a vital role in controlling soil erosion as they act as an obstacle to wind speed from carrying soil sediments with themselves. Their strong and big roots hold the soil particles tightly and protect them from running off by a strong rainwater stream. So, we should save our big and long trees and encourage the practice of afforestation and reforestation.
Use green resources for energy.
Today, several countries are using burning fossil fuels, which will release harmful gases like nitrogen, carbon dioxide, etc. After traveling from the air, these gases settle down on the topmost layer of the soil and reduce its quality. So people should avoid using these fuels and try to follow or use solar, wind, and hydroelectric energy not only to protect the soil quality but also to make the environment green. Yes, this activity will help to maintain the quality of the air and also avoid air pollution.
Makes proper waste management for industrial waste
Several countries don’t have proper waste management facilities, and several industries dump their waste in open areas that affect the soil quality. Industrial waste should be composed of heavy metals or large containers that take several years to decompose. So, regularly practicing this procedure will make the industry clean and also keep the soil in good condition.
- Soil pollution can be avoided in the coming days by doing simple things for the people.
- Well-educated people should be aware of soil pollution and also be aware of the prevention steps for soil pollution.
- Increasing the reuse of materials helps reduce the need for harvesting resources.
- Avoiding inorganic farming( insecticides, weedicides, and pesticides) and encouraging organic farming will help to improve the soil quality.
- Reducing the dependency on non-biodegradable resources.
- People should avoid littering on the ground.
Earth is Gifted by the Almighty God to the human being, we should take care of our earth and protect this planet for the next generation. Ones, we control the soil pollution, it will be more helpful to the human beings and other living things on this earth.
